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M a y 2 3
Strategies and Techniques for Designers, Developers, and Managers of eLearning
A publication of
THIS WEEK — DESIGN STRATEGIES
2005
The Nine Too-Often-NeglectedPrinciples of e-Learning DesignBY TY JOHNSON
The truth is that every time I tried tothink of a tenth principle to round out mylist, it seemed either too painfully obvi-ous or not quite neglected enough to begrouped with the other stepchildren, sonine it remains. And I wish I could saythat my motives for sharing them weremore altruistic, but in reality, since I willlikely be reviewing e-Learning courses formany years to come, I’m primarily hopingto make my own life a little more bear-able! So without further ado, here arethe nine principles.
Principle 1: Interactive or hyperactive?
We all know that, in a self-paced, asyn-chronous course, learning occurs as aresult of the interactions embedded with-in the training. But somewhere in theevolutionary timeline of online learning,someone mixed up “meaningful interac-tivity” with “frequent hyperactivity” andthe number of links per page becameone of the standard units of measure for instructional quality. (See Figure 1 on page 2.)
W W W. E L E A R N I N G G U I L D . C O M
While we e-Learningdesigners can cite a wide range ofguidelines for ourwork, the truth isthat many of thesevalues are, asShakespeare said,“more honored inthe breach than inthe observance.”This week, anaward-winningdesigner takes aleft-handed look atwhat we say we do,what we really do,and at some prac-tices we might want to adopt.
Yes, nine. I realize ten would have been a rounder, more
traditional number, but that didn’t worry Gagné with his
Events of Instruction, now did it? (See Sidebar 1 on page 2
for a summary of Gagné’s Events.) And perhaps there’s even a cos-
mic connection there, since a good third of his Events of Instruc-
tion seem to have fallen into the realm of neglect as well (with the
notable exception, of course, of the revered Event #2, which is
devoutly observed in every e-Learning course via the ceremonial
listing of the never-to-be-read course objectives by no later than
screen 3). But let’s save that soapbox for another article.
Beware — you may even be an unwit-ting hyperactivist yourself! For instance,do any of these sound familiar?
“This page could use a little interaction.Let’s stick in a hyperlink that brings upsome pop-up text!”
“That module summary is a bit static. Iknow — let’s add a bunch of differentURLs that they can link to!”
“We need to get the user a little moreinvolved. Let’s break that page up into fourlittle pages so they’re forced to click Next afew times!”
If these statements bear an uncom-fortable resemblance to your ownthought processes, there may nonethe-less still be hope for you. But I wouldrecommend you keep reading.
Principle 2: Trans-media opera-tions: Day surgery or intensivereconstruction?
So you already have an online refer-ence guide in place containing everythingyour employees will ever need to knowon Topic X?! Then with a simple nip here(i.e., listing of the learning objectives foreach unit) and a small tuck there (i.e.,the addition of a multiple-choice quiz),you’ve successfully changed your boringreference manual into a bona fide e-Learn-ing intervention! (See Figure 2 on page3.) So why all the fuss from customdevelopers like myself about taking sev-eral weeks to design and program aneffective course? We are all after yourmoney, no doubt.
But if I wasn’t just after your money
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The eLearning Developers’ Journal™ is design-ed to serve as a catalyst for innovation and asa vehicle for the dissemination of new and prac-tical strategies and techniques for e-Learningdesigners, developers and managers. TheJournal is not intended to be the definitiveauthority. Rather, it is intended to be a mediumthrough which e-Learning practitioners can sharetheir knowledge, expertise and experience with others for the general betterment of all.
As in any profession, there are many differ-ent perspectives about the best strategies,techniques and tools one can employ to accom-plish a specific objective. This Journal will sharedifferent perspectives and does not position anyone as “the right way,” but rather we positioneach article as “one of the right ways” foraccomplishing a goal. We assume that readerswill evaluate the merits of each article and usethe ideas they contain in a manner appropriatefor their specific situation.
The articles contained in the Journal are allwritten by people who are actively engaged inthis profession — not by paid journalists or writ-ers. Submissions are always welcome at anytime, as are suggestions for articles and futuretopics. To learn more about how to submit articles and/or ideas, please visit:www.eLearningGuild.com.
Publisher David Holcombe
Editorial Director Heidi FiskEditor Bill Brandon
Copy Editor Charles Holcombe
Design Director Nancy Marland
The eLearning Guild™ Advisory BoardRuth Clark, Conrad Gottfredson, Bill Horton,
Bob Mosher, Eric Parks, Brenda Pfaus,Marc Rosenberg, Allison Rossett, Lance Dublin
Copyright 2005. The eLearning Developers’ Journal™.Compilation copyright by The eLearning Guild 2005. Allrights reserved. Please contact The eLearning Guild forreprint permission.
The eLearning Developers’ Journal is published weeklyby The eLearning Guild, 525 College Avenue, Suite215, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Phone: 707.566.8990.
The Journal is included as part of Guild membership.To join the Guild go to www.eLearningGuild.com.
Figure 1 Example of “hyperactivity” in a course. Rolling over each photo brings up a newtext paragraph. While this may be an effective information design technique, it should notbe confused as instructional interaction, since it does not activate any type of cognitiveprocess within the learner.
SIDEBAR 1 Gagné’s 9 Events of Instruction
(Adapted from Gagné, R., Briggs, L. & Wager, W. (1992). Principles of InstructionalDesign (4th Ed.). Fort Worth, TX: HBJ College Publishers.)
1. Gain attention2. Inform learner of objectives3. Stimulate recall of prior learning4. Present stimulus material5. Provide learner guidance6. Elicit performance7. Provide feedback8. Assess performance9. Enhance retention and transfer
and if I really was interested in helpingyou meet your business objectives, Imight possibly make the argument thatretention and transfer of your contentwould be more readily achieved via anexperiential learning course than via areference manual with instructionalappendages. I might even have theeffrontery to say that reference materialsand courses have different roles — thatthe purpose of the former is to providecritical knowledge at the point of need,while the purpose of the latter is to pro-vide the experiences that teach learnershow to apply that knowledge to their real-life tasks.
So can these two separate mediapeacefully coexist? Yes — and in a sym-biotic relationship, no less! If you find itdifficult to cram all of your content intoyour e-Learning course without creatingan inordinate amount of pages or pop-uptext boxes, then don’t! Create instead acourse that consists largely of exercises— scenarios, simulations, games, whathave you — that require the learners toanalyze and apply the content. And ifthey don’t yet know the content? Thenguide them to find it — in context and atthe point of need! That’s right — providethem with links to the appropriate pointsin your reference material right from thecourse itself! (Those don’t count as thetypes of links that we condemned inPrinciple 1, by the way, just in case youwere wondering.)
That’s unorthodox, you say? Well, justwait till you get to Principle #5. But first,my tirade on subject-matter experts.
Principle 3: Why SMEs must neverbe allowed to take over the world
I actually have many friends who areSMEs. But these are primarily the oneswho have attained inner peace with res-pect to their destined role and no longertry to run amok designing courses andwriting assessments.
But can SMEs never aspire to becomeinstructional designers themselves, youask? After all, isn’t that the heart ofevery rapid development tool’s marketingmessage?
There are, admittedly, a few document-ed instances of SMEs who successfullytransformed themselves into instruction-al designers ... but only after undergoinga dramatic spiritual conversion in whichtheir long-held traditions of knowledge-based instruction gave way to the en-lightened path of performance-based
learning. Researchers verified the trans-formation in each case by comparingseveral of the subjects’ post-conversionquestions with those commonly over-heard in their pre-enlightenment phase.See Table 1 below for the results of thecomparison.
But alas, the large majority of theworld’s SMEs continue to define contentin terms of all the topics that learnersmight ever need to know, with the resultbeing courses that focus on the inhala-tion and regurgitation of work-relatedfacts and concepts. It is therefore stillup to the instructional designer to leadthe minds of these well-meaning but mis-guided souls to ponder the higher ques-tion of what changes must take place
in the learners’ actions, attitudes, andcapabilities in order to achieve measur-able performance improvements, and tothen translate this information intopotent, relevant learning experiences.
Principle 4: The glamorous worldof hi-fi design
And just how do you go about makingan e-Learning experience that is bothpotent and relevant? By creating activi-ties that approximate the real-worldtasks as closely as possible in an onlineenvironment (within the parameters ofthe allotted budget and timeline), ofcourse. (See Figure 3 on Page 4.) Inother words, the learning activities thatare most effective at achieving transfer
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Figure 2 In this exercise, pharmaceutical sales reps are faced with several scenarios inwhich they must respond to some tough physician questions about their product. At anytime during the exercise, they are able to pull up the product “fact book” (see highlightedicon at lower left) to research the answers they need.
TABLE 1 SME questions versus design questions
What topics need to be covered in this training? What do learners need to do differently as a result ofreceiving this training? What must they know in orderto perform in that way?
Should we make the post test true/false or multiplechoice? And how many questions should there be?
What are some common situations in which learnerswould be expected to display the target behaviors onthe job? How can we best approximate those situa-tions in the course assessment?
Did we leave out anything that they might ever needto know on the job?
What types of decisions must an effective performerbe able to make “on the spot” vs. what information ispermissible for them to look up when they need it?
Pre-conversion question Post-conversion question
are those with the highest level of fidelity— hence, the value of “hi-fi” design.
I nearly cut this principle from the list,as it teeters precariously on the brink ofthe painfully obvious, but the frequencywith which it is overlooked in practiceconvinced me to leave it in.
Consider a product knowledge coursedesigned to ensure that salespeopleknow all the ins and outs of a new prod-uct line. The most common method Ihave seen for providing practice on thistype of content is a list of standard multi-ple-choice or true/false questions regard-ing the features and benefits of eachproduct. Or occasionally (Hold on to yourseats!) a drag-and-drop matching exer-cise in which learners match a feature toits corresponding product! These activi-ties are undoubtedly the diabolical workof the more sinister class of SMEs dis-cussed in the previous principle, asthese individuals thrive on knowledgeregurgitation: “I name a product — yourattle off its features and benefits.”
Now I could actually live with this typeof lo-fi exercise were it simply a knowl-edge check leading up to a culminatingperformance activity, but all too often it is the culminating activity. Don’t let theappellation fool you. The true objective ofa product “knowledge” course for sales-people is actually performance — improv-ed sales performance, to be exact. Thenwhy wouldn’t the culminating activity takeplace in a sales setting? With fictitiousbut realistic customers who must beasked relevant probing questions in orderto uncover their needs, which should inturn trigger in the salesperson’s mind aspecific set of benefits that addressthose needs, which can in turn be associ-ated with their corresponding product fea-tures? And then why not have the cus-tomer pose a challenge or concern whichrequires the salesperson to not onlyunderstand the relevant features andbenefits but also to explain them in sucha way that the customer is likely to appre-ciate them, too?
Get the picture? Those are preciselythe types of real-life situations in whichthe salespeople will have to apply theirnew knowledge in order to make thesale. I would venture to argue that theywill rarely have a customer approachthem and ask, “And by the way, couldyou recite to me all the features of theXBJ2000, along with the correspondingbenefits of each?” So why content our-selves with asking them to do nothingmore than that in the training?
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Figure 3 Example of hi-fi design: This game mimics the real-life adventures and pitfalls ofthe pharmaceutical sales rep. The goal: To get face time with the influential physician.How? Get gradually referred to the top by first meeting with and impressing the lowerlevel MD’s. Performance in a given scenario can lead to an upward referral, a lateralreferral, or no referral at all! Expertise is measured both in terms of potential revenuegenerated and the amount of time it takes to reach the goal.
Figure 4 Learning via contextual feedback: In this exercise, learners are asked to selectwhich questions to pose to a patient in order to effectively diagnose her condition. Aftersubmitting their selections, they have the opportunity to click each option for details onwhy it is or is not correct.
Principle 5: My least misspelledword
In eighth grade, my hopes for a trip tothe National Spelling Bee were foreverdashed when the head judge at the statecompetition announced what would be-come my final word and eventual down-fall: ingénue. (That’s pronounced “an-ja-noo,” for you non-francophones.) Now,more years later than I care to admit, Ifind myself regularly misspelling wordslike Wednesday, but you can bet I’ll neveragain misspell ingénue (assuming I everfind cause to use it).
My point? Well, again, at the risk ofoverstating the obvious: We rarely forgetour mistakes.
So, do we give our learners plenty ofopportunities to mess up in our cours-es? If not, perhaps we should.
Oh, I already know what you’re saying:“We can’t do that in our organization —people get really upset when they get aquestion wrong!” “I’ll get negativereviews on my Level 1 evaluations!”“What if the CEO takes the course??!!”
Look, I’m not asking you to trip them
up in the final assessment and recordtheir humiliation eternally in the bowelsof your LMS — I’m simply suggestingyou give them the chance to learn bydoing, allow them to make mistakes inan environment where their colleaguescan’t see them, and provide them withsome timely feedback on what the ans-wer should have been and why. (SeeFigure 4 on page 4.)
And PLEASE don’t overlook that lastcomponent! In a learn-by-doing approach,the feedback becomes perhaps the pri-mary means of instruction — or at leastthe vehicle for the most effective andmemorable portion of the instruction.Somehow, receiving the explanation of aconcept in a “pre-practice tutorial” doesnot have the same impact as receivingthat same explanation in the context ofimmediate feedback on one’s individualperformance. In fact, one of my favoritefeedback techniques is to offer learners,after they have submitted their own ans-wers to an item, the opportunity to thenselect each of the possible answers —both the correct options as well as the
distractors — and receive specific com-mentary as to why that option is or isnot correct in that particular context. Ifinstructional designers take the time tocraft the assessment items well enough,all of the key facts and concepts in thecourse can be taught or reinforced con-textually via the guided research (seePrinciple 2) and feedback components ofthese exercises.
Principle 6: Oh, but we will makethat #&*% horse drink!
And this particular horse has alreadybeen beaten nigh to death, but it stillcontinues to resuscitate among my clien-tele; therefore, I must take this opportu-nity to bludgeon it myself.
“Allow learners to control the pace,breadth, and sequence of their ownlearning.”
There, I said it. And I’m not sure howto state that one more clearly. I’m alsonot sure if there is any e-Learning designprinciple that has been repeated morefrequently than this one over the years....SO WHY DO I HAVE CLIENTS STILL
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The eLearning Guild has created The Guild Online Forum Series, a new series of onlineevents that will be held throughout 2005. You can register to participate as an individual oras a group in a one-day “virtual conference” every month that includes four highly interac-tive seventy-five minute sessions designed to explore a specific topic.
e-Learning for e-Learning Professionals...
Individual orSite Registration:
Participate as anindividual or you can pay a site fee, set up your meetingroom, and have youre-Learning teamparticipate in anOnline Forum as a group!
To learn more about eachupcoming Online Forum and to register, go to:www.eLearningGuild.com
Here’s a brief descriptionof the next Online Forumin the series...
Here’s how the Online Forums work:
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Intermediate andAdvanced FlashTechniques for Creatinge-Learning with ImpactThis Online Forum will explore many“under-the-hood” tips and techniquesfrom seasoned Flash experts. The ses-sions in this event will focus on theintermediate-to-advanced uses ofFlash including animation techniques,developing 3-D with Flash, using Flashwith other tools, how SCORM andother standards work with Flash, andsound management tips for Flash.Target Audience: Experienced e-Learn-ing Developers, Programmers, Instruc-tional Designers and others using Flashto develop e-Learning.
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INSISTING THAT WE FORCE LEARNERSTHROUGH EVERY PAGE OF EVERY MOD-ULE IN A PRE-DETERMINED ORDER?!
With one client, I patiently and politelyshared the old cliché of “Well, even ifyou lead them to the water” (meaningevery screen of the course) “you can’tmake them drink” (meaning force themto read and cognitively process the infor-mation on that screen). Her response?“Oh, but our company is pretty darngood at making them drink!”
We won’t even discuss that client’sLevel 1 evaluation results (much less myfears for her future offspring).
If you want to hold learners account-able for mastering training material, doso by creating and administering a validassessment. If they are able to performa skill at the desired level of competen-cy, do you really care if they got to thatpoint by reading every page of Module 6and taking the practice exercise? Or is itnot just as acceptable that they learnedthat skill by some other means?
But if you, like so many others, chooseto disregard this principle, don’t be sur-prised if your name starts showing up inless-than-flattering inscriptions on thebathroom walls of your training center.For, after all, the same rebellious spiritthat incites me to occasionally omit thebulleted list of objectives from the begin-ning of a module can also cause an op-pressed learner to (Dare I say it?) clickthe Next button without reading all thetext on a page! (And if you just had thethought, “Well then, we’ll just put it in
audio and de-activate the Next buttonuntil the end of the narration!” then all Ican say is — there are medications forpeople like you.)
Principle 7: The “budget-half-full”perspective
The next group I would like to target ...er, I mean ... address are the naysayers.And yes, that means all of you who haveread to this point and are saying, “Sure,these are great principles to follow in theideal world, but I certainly don’t have thetime or budget on my projects to designexperiential learning activities, simulatereal-life situations, or create performance-based assessments.” Well, I would rec-ommend you change your focus fromwhat you can’t do with your budget towhat you can do with it. And chances arethat, even if you don’t have the luxury ofdesigning the ideal learning activities foryour course, you probably do have thebreathing room to design better learningactivities than what you generally see outthere, provided that you’re somewhatinventive and resourceful.
For instance, let’s say that you’retasked with providing online training onspecific customer service issues that arepertinent to your organization. In an idealworld, you say, you’d like to have videovignettes of common customer servicescenarios and allow learners to decide,at the end of each, what action theywould perform. That decision woulddetermine which vignette they see next,and so on, resulting in a wonderfully rich
but prohibitively expensive multi-branch-ing simulation. So you decide to replacethe video with a combination of still pho-tos and audio, but the complexity of theproposed interactivity is still too much.Well, before you resort to a drag-and-drop activity in which learners assign aseries of possible statements into eitherthe “Effective” or “Less Effective” col-umn, consider some alternatives thatlower the cost and time of developmentwhile still maintaining a respectableamount of fidelity.
Possibilities• Show a series of mutually independent
audiovisual clips depicting a charac-ter’s performance in various commonsituations. For each clip, ask the learn-er to critique the character’s perfor-mance by selecting from a list thoseparticular actions that the charactershould have taken but did not... orthose that s/he should not have takenbut did. This allows you to addressseveral points with a single clip and,consequently, reduce the total numberof vignettes needed.
• Show a longer scenario, divided intomultiple segments, and allow thelearner to choose the most appropri-ate next step for each segment. Pro-vide feedback for each of the learner’sincorrect choices, but instead ofbranching differently based on thatchoice, explain why the correct answeris the most appropriate and transitionto the next segment by saying some-thing like, “Let’s assume that [insertname of protagonist character] hasmade the correct decision and seewhat effect this has on the customerin this situation.” This allows you toaddress the learner’s incorrect choic-es, but maintains the simplicity of hav-ing only one path through the sce-nario. (See Figure 5, left.)In other words, don’t throw in the
towel as soon as you discover that yourone true learning activity may not beaffordable from a time or cost perspec-tive. Chances are that, with a little inge-nuity, you can still come up with some-thing that allows you to maintain somedegree of instructional dignity. Perhaps aquick brainstorming session with someof your colleagues would provide thegrist you need for your creative mill.
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Figure 5 Example of a “mock” simulation: Learners view a series of clips from a conver-sation with their boss. At each stopping point, they are asked to select their reply. Ratherthan branch differently for each reply, the exercise allows learners to view the boss’sreaction, but then prompts them to try again to get them back on track before they moveahead, thereby maintaining a single path.
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Principle 8: Why Tom Hanks nevereats macaroons
Remember that part in Castawaywhere Tom Hanks’ character hears thecoconuts falling from the tree and firstfreaks out but then gets totally excitedwhen he realizes he suddenly has ediblefruit and potable liquid? And then did younotice how he never looks quite as over-joyed in any of the subsequent coconut-eating or -drinking scenes? I’m guessingthat the excitement wore off after aboutten days or so of nonstop coconut con-sumption.
Therein lies our next learning principle:Even the best instructional approachesand activities can get old if overused.The old adage about variety being thespice of life holds true — maybe evenespecially true — in the training world.
A lot of my work as a custom develop-er over the years has involved designinginstructional templates that can be re-used across multiple content areas.Clients often latch onto this idea and getexcited about what this templatizationmeans for them in terms of economiesof scale over time. And it can, in fact, bea significant source of cost efficiency,but not if the courses resulting from itturn your learners into zombies after thefifteenth iteration of the same activitytype! Remember that the promise of ROIfrom e-Learning tends to only hold truefor effective, engaging e-Learning!
Oddly enough, this seems to be apoint in the ROI pitch that some volumecourseware producers neglect to men-tion. But I’m sure it couldn’t have any-thing to do with the variety or qualityissues that we’ve been discussing, as Iknow for a fact that they always list theirobjectives at the beginning of each mod-ule and change at least the textual con-tent, color of the background graphics,and sometimes even number of pagesfrom one course to the next — so it’sinconceivable that a learner could loseinterest. Those dwindling utilization sta-tistics showing up in your LMS reportsare no doubt a result of flaws in yourinternal marketing techniques.
Oops, did I digress again?Well, as I was saying ... yes, templati-
zation is really neat-o, but as with anynifty idea, use it judiciously. It’s a terrificstrategy for creating large volumes ofcourseware in a shorter period of time,but at least realize that the more course-ware you’re producing, the larger andmore varied your library of templates
should be. Believe it or not, your learn-ers probably will notice if you choosefrom the same three practice activitiesfor every module of a 12-hour course.
The same could be said of many ofthe conventions that we’re so quick toespouse — including those super-coolanimation techniques that Flash nowmakes so readily available. It is indeedpretty awesome when you see that firstfeedback box mushroom out of the Sub-mit button, bounce off the top and sideof the screen, and then float liltinglydown to its resting spot! But by the timeI’m watching this same effect on my fifthquestion, I’ve come to the conclusionthat perhaps receiving feedback isn’treally that important after all.
Now please, don’t go to the otherextreme and decide that you’ll neverinclude a single special effect in any ofyour courses. To do so would be to bla-tantly disregard the wisdom of the finaland, in my opinion, most bodacious ofall the principles.
Principle 9: The adult learner’sdirty little secret
For all the deep, serious discussionsthat we adults like to have about ourinstructional theories, our best practices,our performance support methodolo-gies, and so on, we harbor a dirty littlesecret. When all is said and done, if wehave to block out a series of hours toparticipate in a training course, we wantto be entertained!
Okay, maybe there are a few adultsthat aren’t interested in being enter-
tained and are purely concerned withknowledge and skills acquisition, but,trust me, those aren’t people you wantto hang out with. The rest of us, thoughwe’re loath to admit it, crave the humor,the games, the immersive activities, thecompetition, the eye candy, the elementsof surprise — all those things that class-room instructors have used to their ad-vantage for years to get the high evalua-tion scores.
Of all the e-courses I’ve seen gothrough pilot testing over the years, theones that garner the best overall reviewsfrom the user population are invariablythose that provide the deepest levels ofengagement. The entertainment doesn’thave to come from the little add-ons,mind you. Some of the most engagingcourses are the ones with exercises thatkeep the learners actively thinking —that challenge them to reach just beyondthe level of what they already know butgive them the resources needed to figureit out. But the gratuitous add-ons alsodon’t hurt, provided you use them wisely and in moderation.
Consider the following as practicalways of increasing the entertainmentvalue of your courses:• Make use of storytelling. This can
range from framing the whole coursewithin the context of a story to sporad-ically inserting a brief anecdote whichdrives home a concept. (See Figure 6below.)
• Get a writer who knows how to addsome zest and wit to the text and nar-ration of the course. Your content is
Figure 6 Example of a common mathematical drill-and-practice activity frame with athemed gaming context. The protagonist takes on a summer job at the local deli to earnenough money to get a car for his senior year. In this game, you can help him win somecool parts for his new ride by earning and exchanging points.
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probably boring enough as it is, sodon’t exacerbate the issue by combin-ing it with mediocre writing.
• If you’re going to use a mentor charac-ter, at least choose a cool, interestingone. Learners will prefer a hip, wise-cracking mentor to one who is stiff,patronizing, or monotonous (except, of course, for those learners who arestiff, patronizing, or monotonous them-selves).
• Consistently design practice exercisesand assessments that require learnersto combine course knowledge in newways and within new contexts. If theycan answer every question within twoseconds of reading it, you’ve likely fall-en into the regurgitation trap.
• Ignore the people who tell you thathumor is always too risky. Most learn-ers appreciate it, provided you’ve runit past at least a few colleagues whowill be truthful in telling you if you’veexceeded the acceptable corn limit. Itcan be as simple as slyly embedding
an occasional witty distractor in yourmultiple-choice questions. (Oh yeah,and also ignore those measurementpurists who go on about the drasticreliability repercussions of adoptingsuch a practice. They fall into that ear-lier category of people I said you don’twant to hang out with.)
• Couch the course in a creative theme,provided it’s not one of the overusedones (you know the ones — detectivetheme, Mission Impossible, The Ma-trix, anything requiring you to gathermiscellaneous objects in your virtualknapsack in order to win the covetedand printable course completion certifi-cate at the end of your quest, etc.).
• Treat the “information presentation”portions of your course in the sameway you would treat the instructionsdocument for a computer game. Makeit accessible for people when theyneed it, but don’t let it get in the wayof their real purpose — in this case,participating in the learning activities.
In short, follow the Golden Rule of e-Learning design: Don’t ask others totake a course that you wouldn’t be hon-estly excited about taking yourself!
Conclusion (sort of)Although I was unable to come up with
a 10th principle, I was able to devise 10questions that may help designers verifythat they are making good choices intheir content selection and in their useof interactivity. (See Sidebar 2 below.)These 10 items are not necessarily par-allel with the nine neglected principles,but it’s an imperfect world and I knowyou can handle this little inconsistency.
Allow me to conclude by quoting oneof my earliest design managers, who toldme with a twinkle (or was it a threateningglare?) in her eye as I set out to write myfirst storyboard: “Remember, my youngapprentice, the mind can only absorbwhat the seat can endure!”
Truer words were never uttered in thelearning realm. May the principles dis-cussed herein help to ensure that yourown courses are consistently classifiedas more than just “endurable!”
Author ContactTy Johnson, VP of Learning and Con-
sulting Services for SoftAssist, a Phil-adelphia-based producer of custom e-Learning, has been designing comput-er-based and online courses since thevideodisc era. He has contributed todozens of training projects spanningdiverse content areas — from advancedmanufacturing techniques to remedialmath skills, and from customer serviceprinciples to fraud prevention practices.His approach to design has delightedclients and colleagues alike and hasearned him various recognitions, includ-ing Gold and Silver Medals for CustomContent in the 2003 and 2004 Excel-lence in Elearning Awards. He can becontacted at [email protected].
Additional information on the topicscovered in this article is also listed inthe Guild Resource Directory.
SIDEBAR 2 10 Questions that will lead to cathartic instructional introspection
Principle 1: What cognitive processes (if any!) do your interactions elicit from the learners?
Principle 2: What (if anything!) can learners get from your course that they could not get from reading a training manual and taking a multiple-choice quiz afterwards?
Principle 3: What types of questions did you pose in the analysis phase of thecourse, and to whom did you pose them?
Principle 4: How closely (if at all!) do the culminating activities of your course mirror what learners are required to do on the job?
Principle 5: How much (if any!) of your course content is presented in the form of contextual feedback on the learners’ performance?
Principle 6: How much ability (if any!) do learners have to choose the sequence and amount of content they wish to access?
Principle 7: How hard did you really try (if at all!) to devise experiential learning activities that could fit within your course’s budget?
Principle 8: Is there enough variety among your course activities to garner and maintain learner engagement?
Principle 9: Aside from the fact that their job may depend on it, is there anything in the course itself that motivates learners to retain, apply (or for that matter, even pay attention to) the content being presented?
The $64,000 Question: Would learners who just completed one of your courses rather be gouged in the eyeball with a hot poker than have to sit through a second one?
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The eLearning Guild organizes a variety of industry events focused on participant learning:
The eLearningGuild™ is a globalCommunity ofPracticeThrough this member-driven com-munity of designers, developers,and managers of e-Learning, theGuild provides high-quality learn-ing opportunities, networking ser-vices, resources, and publica-tions.
Guild members represent adiverse group of instructionaldesigners, content developers,web developers, project man-agers, contractors, consultants,managers and directors of train-ing and learning services — all ofwhom share a common interest ine-Learning design, development,and management. Members workfor organizations in the corporate,government, academic, and K-12sectors. They also are employeesof e-Learning product and serviceproviders, consultants, students,and self-employed professionals.
The more than 16,000 membersof this growing, worldwide com-munity look to the Guild for time-ly, relevant, and objective informa-tion about e-Learning to increasetheir knowledge, improve theirprofessional skills, and expandtheir personal networks.
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The Online Forum SeriesE-Learning for e-Learning professionals! TheGuild Online Forum Series enables you, or your team, to explore the most pressing issuesfacing e-Learning professionals today with someof our industry’s smartest people — right fromyour desktop or conference room.
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intensive learning events with limited enrollment.Participate in person or online, as an individualor as part of a team.
Annual ConferenceThe eLearning Producer Conference, held inthe fall each year, offers comprehensive and in-depth content for all e-Learning professionals ina collegial environment conducive to learningand sharing.
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